Kiss of Blood
by FemaleChauvinist
Summary: Stopping to aid an accident victim is the perfect demonstration of Carlisle's compassion…so why is Esme looking at him as if he's a monster?


**Disclaimer:** While the attempt has been made to be medically accurate, some artistic license has been taken, and statements made by Carlisle and other medical personnel are not to be regarded as authoritative.

The word "Kiss" is used in the title for artistic effect, and nothing sexual and/or romantic is meant to be implied.

Recognizable characters and plotlines are the property of Stephenie Meyer; all original characters and story © 2019 FemaleChauvinist.

 _Do not post without permission. Do not copy/print without including the above disclaimer in its entirety._

 **Carlisle**

"Carlisle, what was that?" Esme questioned, her head cocked to one side.

I had heard it too, and almost without thinking pushed the accelerator down further. "Car accident," I said briefly. And judging from the sound of that crash, my services were definitely going to be needed; fortunately, it hadn't sounded like more than one car was involved.

I was braking as soon as the mangled car came into view by the side of the road, and opening my door almost before the car had stopped. "Call an ambulance, Esme," I ordered tersely, grabbing my bag from under the seat and running toward the wreck.

At first I didn't hear a heartbeat, and feared the worst. Then I caught it, faint and fading quickly. I grabbed the door handle, but the door was locked or jammed. But there was no human conscious to observe me; I pulled harder and the latch gave way, the door protesting as it opened on damaged hinges. The authorities would put the broken lock down as a result of the crash; it wouldn't occur to them that it possibly _could_ have another cause.

I could see at a glance that the man probably had internal injuries and shouldn't be moved. But given the fact that he wasn't breathing and his heartbeat was faint and wildly erratic, keeping him still was the last of my concerns.

I ripped through the seatbelt and, moving with what at vampire speed counted as calm carefulness, lifted him out and laid him on the flat pavement.

It was as I was kneeling over him to clear his airway that I noticed the cut on his lip. It was small; hardly more than a nick, really. Nothing that could be counted as life-threatening…unless the only person available to give CPR was a blood-drinking vampire.

My decision was made so quickly that it was as if there was no choice at all. Beginning chest compressions with one hand, I wiped my lips on my other sleeve to remove every possible trace of venom. Then I bent and sealed my mouth over his.

Within minutes, a police car pulled up beside me, lights flashing, and two state troopers got out. One dropped to squat beside me, resting a hand on the pavement. "What's his condition?"

"Not breathing…weak, erratic heartbeat…probable internal bleeding and other internal injuries. Possibly a medical condition caused the crash in the first place." I knew Esme had probably told the 911 dispatcher I was a doctor; likely he had passed the information on.

"You witnessed it?"

"No. We were driving by — saw the wreck on the side of the road. As a doctor, I came to see if I could help while my wife called an ambulance." My explanation was interrupted at regular intervals as I leaned forward to breathe for the man.

Now that I was keeping his heart pumping steadily, his cut lip was bleeding a little more freely; it smeared wetly under my mouth.

But I didn't allow myself to think about that. The man was in absolutely no danger from me, but there was no sense unnecessarily testing even my perfect control.

I heard the ambulance's sirens in the distance even as I responded to the trooper's questions; by the time I finished, even he could hear it.

As the EMTs ran toward us, I moved aside to allow them to take over and give the man oxygen. In a low voice I gave them a brief rundown of his condition.

"Will you need my assistance on the way?" I questioned.

"No, but thanks, Doctor."

I nodded and stood, keeping out of their way as they prepared to load him into the vehicle.

"Here, sir."

I turned to see a young EMT offering me a cloth. "Might want to wipe your mouth." He shook his head. "I don't know if I would have been willing to do that…" His voice held a curious mixture of admiration and disgust. "Who knows what kind of diseases he has."

I shrugged, accepting the cloth. "As a doctor, I'm exposed to a lot anyway." I wiped my lip, then spit into a corner of the cloth and scrubbed my skin as best I could; if venom didn't take it off, nothing would. I wasn't concerned for myself, but I wasn't about to kiss Esme with the slightest trace of human blood on my lip. "Thanks." Folding the cloth with the blood and venom on the inside, I shoved it into my pocket.

I answered some more of the troopers' questions, then gave them my number in case they needed further information.

It was only then that I turned and saw Esme standing by the car, looking absolutely stricken.

Concerned, I hurried to her side. "Esme, love, what's wrong?"

"The blood…" she whispered. "Carlisle, you looked like a vampire!"

I frowned, not understanding. "I _am_ a vampire, Esme; you've seen me with blood on my mouth before."

"Not human," she whispered. "It…didn't look like _you_ , Carlisle."

Ah. The problem was psychological; there was no _visible_ difference between animal and human blood. I gently lifted her chin with my finger. "Look into my eyes, Esme," I breathed. "I'm the only vampire with enough control to have human blood on my lip…and not even be tempted to lick it off." It sounded arrogant, but I sensed that Esme _needed_ me to be arrogant; needed to know that the image in her mind of me red-eyed, mouth dripping with human blood as I straightened from my prey, was an utter impossibility.

Esme reached out and gently ran her finger under my still-gold eye. "You…didn't swallow any?"

I shrugged. "Maybe a drop or two that happened to get into my mouth; not enough to count. I got more when I changed you and the others." I leaned in to kiss her as the sound of the siren faded into the distance.

She melted against me. "I'm sorry, Carlisle. I _know_ you'd never — I just thought —"

I pressed my finger over her lips. "Shush. You didn't really believe I'd done anything worse than lick it off my lips. Now come on. I believe I want a taste of something _better_ than blood."

She giggled at the deviltry in my eyes. "But, Carlisle…aren't you going to meet him at the hospital?"

I grinned. "We're closer to Hoskins Community; they're taking him there." Hoskins Community Hospital had a first-class trauma team; I doubted they would call me in, as area hospitals had been known to do when we were in one place long enough for word of my skill to get around.

Esme smiled. "Well, in that case…" She reached behind her to open the car door, and I hurried around to the driver's seat.

"Watch the speed," she warned me. "You might get away with speeding _to_ an accident, but those troopers won't like you speeding away."

I winked devilishly at her and waited until the lights from the emergency vehicles had disappeared behind us before pushing the gas to the floor.

The End

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